Sunday, November 22, 2009
Happy Birthday
Monday, November 16, 2009
Better Than Ice Cream
The last two weekends (and the days in between) have been nuts. Lots of crazy, good developments with the kids. And Round Two of illness. (I heart preschool!) More details will be coming one of these days. Really. It could happen...hey, at least you know I have good intentions!
I've started running away on Sundays, at least for a little bit, to escape the madness. A week ago I ran away to the beach. I only had a 45 minute window to escape, and the drive takes almost 15 minutes each way, so I only had about 15 minutes actually on the beach. But it was so worth it because I went ALL BY MYSELF. The weather was in the 70s and just fabulous. I drove with all the windows down and sunroof open listening to my music, yes, MY music, really loudly. It was heavenly. The beach was nice too!
Last night I took Ree with me, and we ran away to Boombalatti's, a local ice cream shop that makes all of their ice cream in house daily. It is fabulous ice cream. I'm sure it's because people just don't go out for ice cream on a regular basis in November in Ohio, but I'm not used to seasonal ice cream flavors in the fall. Graeter's makes pumpkin ice cream, but that's about it. Here it is a whole different story. There was an entire case devoted to autumnal ice cream. There was cranberry apple cider sorbet, and a whole host of flavors made with dried fruits and nuts. I ended up getting the pumpkin ice cream, which was at least as good as Graeter's, in case you were curious. Ree picked the cranberry walnut coconut. She was so excited about it. She didn't even want to look at the vanilla with sprinkles that was right next to it. Her order got a raised eyebrow from the college-aged guy working behind the counter. As we were leaving, he asked if she liked it. I informed him that she ate every last bite. My girl is not a plain Jane!
I've started running away on Sundays, at least for a little bit, to escape the madness. A week ago I ran away to the beach. I only had a 45 minute window to escape, and the drive takes almost 15 minutes each way, so I only had about 15 minutes actually on the beach. But it was so worth it because I went ALL BY MYSELF. The weather was in the 70s and just fabulous. I drove with all the windows down and sunroof open listening to my music, yes, MY music, really loudly. It was heavenly. The beach was nice too!
Last night I took Ree with me, and we ran away to Boombalatti's, a local ice cream shop that makes all of their ice cream in house daily. It is fabulous ice cream. I'm sure it's because people just don't go out for ice cream on a regular basis in November in Ohio, but I'm not used to seasonal ice cream flavors in the fall. Graeter's makes pumpkin ice cream, but that's about it. Here it is a whole different story. There was an entire case devoted to autumnal ice cream. There was cranberry apple cider sorbet, and a whole host of flavors made with dried fruits and nuts. I ended up getting the pumpkin ice cream, which was at least as good as Graeter's, in case you were curious. Ree picked the cranberry walnut coconut. She was so excited about it. She didn't even want to look at the vanilla with sprinkles that was right next to it. Her order got a raised eyebrow from the college-aged guy working behind the counter. As we were leaving, he asked if she liked it. I informed him that she ate every last bite. My girl is not a plain Jane!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
It's a Put On
One of the great things about Wilmington is that independent radio is still alive and kicking. We celebrate this by keeping a radio on most of the time when we are at home. In particular, we have a great classic rock station that we have been listening to ever since we moved here.
Lately Pearl Jam and STP have been in heavy roatation, and while I like hearing them, and they are a million times better than some of the 70s crap that gets played, it's still a bit disturbing to realize that the music that came out when I was in high school is now classic rock.
Ree definitely has her favorite songs, and it's always amusing (and a bit scary) when we hear her playing in her room singing Pink Floyd or Queen. Her favorite classic rock song of all time, though, has to be Eminence Front by The Who. She LOVES it. Back when she was barely talking, we would still catch her singing along, "It's a put on!" If she were on Name That Tune, she could name Eminence Front in one note.
It came on the radio the other day, and she got really excited. Jeff was in the sunroom and she came running in, all wide-eyed and excited and shouted, "Daddy, it's my JAM!"
Lately Pearl Jam and STP have been in heavy roatation, and while I like hearing them, and they are a million times better than some of the 70s crap that gets played, it's still a bit disturbing to realize that the music that came out when I was in high school is now classic rock.
Ree definitely has her favorite songs, and it's always amusing (and a bit scary) when we hear her playing in her room singing Pink Floyd or Queen. Her favorite classic rock song of all time, though, has to be Eminence Front by The Who. She LOVES it. Back when she was barely talking, we would still catch her singing along, "It's a put on!" If she were on Name That Tune, she could name Eminence Front in one note.
It came on the radio the other day, and she got really excited. Jeff was in the sunroom and she came running in, all wide-eyed and excited and shouted, "Daddy, it's my JAM!"
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Daylight Wasting Time
I think Daylight Savings Time is nothing more than an evil plot against parents. Seriously! All the farming these days is done by big corporations. They have high tech equipment and lights and crews of thousands. They don't need an extra hour. And energy savings? Please. Time change is a plot against parents. Just think about it.
In the spring you lose an hour. Yes, as though the day wasn't short enough already for parents, there is a day that is cut down to 23 hours. Boo! And they say that you'll get that hour back in the fall, but they don't say what that hour will look like.
So after surviving the Halloween madness on Saturday, Jeff and I were all excited for our extra hour on Sunday. We knew better than to think we would actually get an extra hour of sleep (that's a good one!) but we thought we would at least have an extra hour to get things done.
Um, no.
Both boys were up by 5:45, and they were screaming because they were STARVING. They had been eating breakfast between 7:30 and 8:00, so I'm not sure exactly why they wanted to get up quite so early, but they did. I think it was our punishment for putting them to bed late on Saturday night. (No, this does not make sense, but have you ever tried to rationalize with 11-month-olds? Their responses, at best, tend to be along the lines of "MAMAMAMAMAMA" or zerberts. At worst they cry. A lot. And they just don't grasp the concept that staying up late should be complemented by sleeping in.)
We should've known then that the day was going to be shot, but silly us, we still had hope. The day did not get better. The boys spent most of the day crying because Something Wasn't Right. They were briefly placated when I took them to Kohl's and Dollar General with me, but the happiness ended abruptly when we returned home. So you know what we did with our "extra" hour that was actually rudely stolen from us back in the spring? We spent it holding crying babies. Yay for cuddles! Babies are so sweet! :)
Since Sunday Leon and Michael have continued to get up between 5:00 and 5:30 each morning. Oh, and Leon hasn't been wanting to stay asleep, so he's been checking in every 30-45 minutes until midnight. And twice during the night after that. And since they are not sleeping at night, they have also decided to cut their daytime naps down from 2 hours to 45 minutes. Yawn.
The only thing saving me is that I know I am not alone. I have yet to talk to a parent with a child under the age of 5 who isn't currently in sleep deprivation hell. Daylight Savings Time, you are the most evil plot against parents...EVER.
In the spring you lose an hour. Yes, as though the day wasn't short enough already for parents, there is a day that is cut down to 23 hours. Boo! And they say that you'll get that hour back in the fall, but they don't say what that hour will look like.
So after surviving the Halloween madness on Saturday, Jeff and I were all excited for our extra hour on Sunday. We knew better than to think we would actually get an extra hour of sleep (that's a good one!) but we thought we would at least have an extra hour to get things done.
Um, no.
Both boys were up by 5:45, and they were screaming because they were STARVING. They had been eating breakfast between 7:30 and 8:00, so I'm not sure exactly why they wanted to get up quite so early, but they did. I think it was our punishment for putting them to bed late on Saturday night. (No, this does not make sense, but have you ever tried to rationalize with 11-month-olds? Their responses, at best, tend to be along the lines of "MAMAMAMAMAMA" or zerberts. At worst they cry. A lot. And they just don't grasp the concept that staying up late should be complemented by sleeping in.)
We should've known then that the day was going to be shot, but silly us, we still had hope. The day did not get better. The boys spent most of the day crying because Something Wasn't Right. They were briefly placated when I took them to Kohl's and Dollar General with me, but the happiness ended abruptly when we returned home. So you know what we did with our "extra" hour that was actually rudely stolen from us back in the spring? We spent it holding crying babies. Yay for cuddles! Babies are so sweet! :)
Since Sunday Leon and Michael have continued to get up between 5:00 and 5:30 each morning. Oh, and Leon hasn't been wanting to stay asleep, so he's been checking in every 30-45 minutes until midnight. And twice during the night after that. And since they are not sleeping at night, they have also decided to cut their daytime naps down from 2 hours to 45 minutes. Yawn.
The only thing saving me is that I know I am not alone. I have yet to talk to a parent with a child under the age of 5 who isn't currently in sleep deprivation hell. Daylight Savings Time, you are the most evil plot against parents...EVER.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Song Birds
Someone in our house is always singing. People may mock my horrific singing voice, but it somehow soothes the kids, strange creatures that they are. While traveling last summer, we discovered that when all else fails, I need to sing. We survived an otherwise tortuous drive through southeastern Ohio back roads thanks to my skills at concocting a 20+ minute medley of children's songs. R took note, and when we got home from vacation, any time both boys started crying she would nag, "Mom, you need to sing."
R unfortunately inherited both my singing voice and my incessant need to sing. She is always belting out some song loudly and off-key. After spending months admonishing Jeff and me when we changed the lyrics to songs, she has started doing the same thing. It is hilarious to hear what she comes up with.
She is not the only singing child. We discovered last weekend that M is a singer too. His favorite song is "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and last weekend we got out a toy that played it along with two other songs. As inevitably happens when we get out a new toy, L and R spent the first half hour fighting over it. Once they had battled to boredom and moved on, M moved in. He had been studying them, and he didn't even waste time playing the other songs. He sat down, hit the button for "Itsy, Bitsy Spider," and started singing. And he did it over and over again until he realized I was watching. Then he was embarassed, picked up the first toy he could find, and stuck it in his mouth.
L is not there with the singing, but he excels at clapping. His favorite song is "If You're Happy and You Know It," and I sang it in a fit of desperation last Monday night when both boys were miserably sick and screaming. L reluctantly stopped screaming and started clapping along. However, while clapping, he shook his head "no." It looked like he was thinking, "I will clap, because that is what I am supposed to do, but I am not happy about it!"
R unfortunately inherited both my singing voice and my incessant need to sing. She is always belting out some song loudly and off-key. After spending months admonishing Jeff and me when we changed the lyrics to songs, she has started doing the same thing. It is hilarious to hear what she comes up with.
She is not the only singing child. We discovered last weekend that M is a singer too. His favorite song is "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and last weekend we got out a toy that played it along with two other songs. As inevitably happens when we get out a new toy, L and R spent the first half hour fighting over it. Once they had battled to boredom and moved on, M moved in. He had been studying them, and he didn't even waste time playing the other songs. He sat down, hit the button for "Itsy, Bitsy Spider," and started singing. And he did it over and over again until he realized I was watching. Then he was embarassed, picked up the first toy he could find, and stuck it in his mouth.
L is not there with the singing, but he excels at clapping. His favorite song is "If You're Happy and You Know It," and I sang it in a fit of desperation last Monday night when both boys were miserably sick and screaming. L reluctantly stopped screaming and started clapping along. However, while clapping, he shook his head "no." It looked like he was thinking, "I will clap, because that is what I am supposed to do, but I am not happy about it!"
Monday, October 26, 2009
Ch-ch-ch-changes
So somehow over the past week, even with all the drama of being sick, all three kids managed to grow up. (Yes, I'm sure it's actually been slowly happening, but I hadn't noticed, so you're going to get the more dramatic version.)
The biggest improvement of the week (of the year???) is that L is now sleeping in his own bed in his own room every night. I may jinx it by writing about it, but he hasn't slept in our bed or even in our room in 5 or 6 nights. We ended up having to let him cry it out. I hated it, but when they were sick we realized the boys don't bother each other with their crying. They will check on the other one, and then the non-crier will happily lay down to sleep while the other fusses. Jeff's theory is they actually use the crying to check on the other one, and the non-crier is somewhat comforted by the sound because it means his brother is there.
So last week I started tucking L in with his his blanket, his bear, and his brother (in the crib next to him). He did not like it. The worst was the third night in which he really realized what was going on and SCREAMED for 20 minutes, but by last night he gave up, and he hardly fussed. On the other hand, he did keep getting up all night last night to check on me, and he has been sleeping from 10:30 - 5:30 or just getting up once. Either way, we are finally making progress, and one of these days we'll get him tucked in without a screaming battle and get him to sleep through the night.
L is also desperately trying to walk. The only thing he lacks is confidence. He has been cruising the furniture like a mad man, and one of our favorite tricks is to sit on the couch with our legs out while he is cruising the couch. He gets so caught up in what he's doing, that he will cruise right down our legs. Eventually he realizes that he is in the middle of the living room rug. (Well, if it's Jeff's leg. If it's my leg, he's still pretty close to the couch.) At that point, he looks up and shoots us a dirty look, and then he hurls his body back at the couch. Yesterday, he briefly stood unsupported. He was busy busy standing and playing with the big castle we got for R's first birthday, and he let go so he could hold two things at once. As soon as he realized what he did, he plopped down, and he didn't try that again. As R would say, it was too scary!
L also learned to dance on Saturday. He is doing the typical baby-style dance in which he bends his knees and bounces up and down. It happened on Saturday night while we were watching Sesame Street clips on the computer, and he started dancing every time he heard a new song. Given that he has to hold on to something for support, he definitely looks like a little pole dancer shaking his booty.
The second biggest improvement of the year is that over the weekend R started using the potty ALL the time. No accident of any kind. Actually, the biggest improvement is that SHE started telling us when she needed to go. We didn't have to drag her to the bathroom every two hours and tell her she needed to try. I think she was as startled as we were by this change in events, because on Saturday it was with definite surprise that she climbed out of her "office" that she built behind the couch and told me she had to go as she ran for the bathroom.
While it's much less dramatic, I do have to brag on another R accomplishment. Since we are always discussing family and friends in Ohio and other far-off places, Jeff got R a puzzle of the United States in which each state is a puzzle piece. He got her the puzzle about 10 days ago, and she has been dutifully working on it each day. It's a framed puzzle on a board, and the outline of each piece is drawn on the board. Apparently, that's all she needs to help her, because on Friday Jeff discovered that she had done the entire puzzle by herself.
It kills me that when I have so much to say about one boy, there is not much to report about the other, but that's definitely the case right now. M is in a quiet phase, at least developmentally. But that's not to say he isn't learning. He has turned into our observer, and as a result, he is the first to actually learn how to follow directions. He doesn't like it, but when I tell him to sit down in the tub, he knows what to do. He also knows where to crawl if I tell him it's time to eat, to read stories, to get a clean diapie, or to take a bath. (With two you can't always cart the baby with you. They have to be self-reliant! Even at 11-months-old!) Over the weekend he figured out how to turn the pages of books. It started with just cloth books on Friday, but by last night he was flipping through board books. I caught him staring at a book filled with pictures of food with a puzzled look on his face. After some careful consideration, he realized the book was upside down and he turned it over. Given that a whole pizza looks about the same right side up or upside down, I was really impressed and called Jeff over. That's when M stuck the book in his mouth and started chewing on it.
My favorite M stunt right now is his turbo crawl. He'll be heading towards a forbidden zone - R's room or the dogs food dishes while they are eating (He loves to eat dog food. I'm still not letting go of the theory that he thinks he's a dog!) - and he'll realize that Jeff and I are in hot pursuit. So he will turn on turbo crawl, thinking he can outpace us. It hasn't worked yet, but he keeps trying, and it does make me laugh every time.
The biggest improvement of the week (of the year???) is that L is now sleeping in his own bed in his own room every night. I may jinx it by writing about it, but he hasn't slept in our bed or even in our room in 5 or 6 nights. We ended up having to let him cry it out. I hated it, but when they were sick we realized the boys don't bother each other with their crying. They will check on the other one, and then the non-crier will happily lay down to sleep while the other fusses. Jeff's theory is they actually use the crying to check on the other one, and the non-crier is somewhat comforted by the sound because it means his brother is there.
So last week I started tucking L in with his his blanket, his bear, and his brother (in the crib next to him). He did not like it. The worst was the third night in which he really realized what was going on and SCREAMED for 20 minutes, but by last night he gave up, and he hardly fussed. On the other hand, he did keep getting up all night last night to check on me, and he has been sleeping from 10:30 - 5:30 or just getting up once. Either way, we are finally making progress, and one of these days we'll get him tucked in without a screaming battle and get him to sleep through the night.
L is also desperately trying to walk. The only thing he lacks is confidence. He has been cruising the furniture like a mad man, and one of our favorite tricks is to sit on the couch with our legs out while he is cruising the couch. He gets so caught up in what he's doing, that he will cruise right down our legs. Eventually he realizes that he is in the middle of the living room rug. (Well, if it's Jeff's leg. If it's my leg, he's still pretty close to the couch.) At that point, he looks up and shoots us a dirty look, and then he hurls his body back at the couch. Yesterday, he briefly stood unsupported. He was busy busy standing and playing with the big castle we got for R's first birthday, and he let go so he could hold two things at once. As soon as he realized what he did, he plopped down, and he didn't try that again. As R would say, it was too scary!
L also learned to dance on Saturday. He is doing the typical baby-style dance in which he bends his knees and bounces up and down. It happened on Saturday night while we were watching Sesame Street clips on the computer, and he started dancing every time he heard a new song. Given that he has to hold on to something for support, he definitely looks like a little pole dancer shaking his booty.
The second biggest improvement of the year is that over the weekend R started using the potty ALL the time. No accident of any kind. Actually, the biggest improvement is that SHE started telling us when she needed to go. We didn't have to drag her to the bathroom every two hours and tell her she needed to try. I think she was as startled as we were by this change in events, because on Saturday it was with definite surprise that she climbed out of her "office" that she built behind the couch and told me she had to go as she ran for the bathroom.
While it's much less dramatic, I do have to brag on another R accomplishment. Since we are always discussing family and friends in Ohio and other far-off places, Jeff got R a puzzle of the United States in which each state is a puzzle piece. He got her the puzzle about 10 days ago, and she has been dutifully working on it each day. It's a framed puzzle on a board, and the outline of each piece is drawn on the board. Apparently, that's all she needs to help her, because on Friday Jeff discovered that she had done the entire puzzle by herself.
It kills me that when I have so much to say about one boy, there is not much to report about the other, but that's definitely the case right now. M is in a quiet phase, at least developmentally. But that's not to say he isn't learning. He has turned into our observer, and as a result, he is the first to actually learn how to follow directions. He doesn't like it, but when I tell him to sit down in the tub, he knows what to do. He also knows where to crawl if I tell him it's time to eat, to read stories, to get a clean diapie, or to take a bath. (With two you can't always cart the baby with you. They have to be self-reliant! Even at 11-months-old!) Over the weekend he figured out how to turn the pages of books. It started with just cloth books on Friday, but by last night he was flipping through board books. I caught him staring at a book filled with pictures of food with a puzzled look on his face. After some careful consideration, he realized the book was upside down and he turned it over. Given that a whole pizza looks about the same right side up or upside down, I was really impressed and called Jeff over. That's when M stuck the book in his mouth and started chewing on it.
My favorite M stunt right now is his turbo crawl. He'll be heading towards a forbidden zone - R's room or the dogs food dishes while they are eating (He loves to eat dog food. I'm still not letting go of the theory that he thinks he's a dog!) - and he'll realize that Jeff and I are in hot pursuit. So he will turn on turbo crawl, thinking he can outpace us. It hasn't worked yet, but he keeps trying, and it does make me laugh every time.
Friday, October 23, 2009
It's the Gift That Keeps on Giving
The weekends have been really stressful for me lately. There's not enough time to get caught up on chores, much less to have fun. I feel like I just get further behind with every passing weekend. The pile of unfolded laundry on the couch gets taller and the piles of unswept dog fur on the floor get larger. All I've been wanting is some time to get caught up. Not to get ahead, just to catch up a little. It didn't seem like having the laundry cleaned, folded, and put away and the floors swept, and least for a day, was too much to ask. I should've been careful what I wished for.
Last week R's preschool class was kind enough to give her the flu. Which she has subsequently shared with the whole family. She was miserably sick last Friday, but by Saturday afternoon she was feeling much better and had turned into a full-fledged cranky Becky demanding that we bow at her feet. On Sunday afternoon it was L's turn, and he too went through 24 hours of misery before bouncing back. I was up a lot with L on Sunday night (yes, even more than usual!), and Jeff ended up getting up for the day at 4:00 a.m. with M who wanted to know why everyone else was up.
I had a meeting at work on Monday morning, but I went home after it so I could help Jeff since he was exhausted and it was a struggle to take care of the other two while L wanted to be held all the time. It's probably a good thing I headed home, because M got sick Monday afternoon, and then we had two babies who wanted to be held constantly, plus a very jealous big sister.
Monday night was the worst of it. Both boys wanted to be held. By me. Daddy was worthless. After having them scream from 10:30 - 11:30 p.m., I finally got them both settled down with me on the living room floor. It turns out their big fans of late night TV and love Conan. They dozed off, and I was happy to be able to get some sleep. But then M woke up screaming. And I got him back to sleep. And then he woke up screaming again. It turns out that he woke up screaming about every 15 minutes for the next two hours. Finally, around 1:30, both boys passed out on the floor snuggled together holding hands (it was SO cute!) and slept for slightly longer stretches. They still woke up every 45 minutes to an hour, but that's a huge improvement over ever 10-20 minutes.
I didn't make it to work on Tuesday. But, thanks to being able to strap a baby into the sling at all times, I did get seven loads of laundry washed and the floors swept. I napped in the afternoon while the boys slept, so I didn't get the floors mopped, but I needed my rest. And I ended up mopping that evening anyway because it was Pru's turn to be sick. To be more precise, Pru was sick all over the dining room, living room, kitchen, and hall. (Dogs and humans don't actually share diseases, but the stress of our house may have driven her to eat something she shouldn't have. Or she was worn down from staying up all night with me and the boys playing Nurse Pru. Or she is the first dog to get sick from humans. Who knows.)
I actually went to work on Wednesday. Unfortunately I had a late afternoon sneezing attack that turned into severe aches after dinner and full-on flu by the wee hours of Thursday morning. So Thursday was my day to stay home sick. Since the kids and I had all had seasonal flu shots, I suspected we had H1N1, and that was pretty much confirmed by the bizarre symptoms I had. I went through all the usual flu symptoms - runny nose, aches, chills, and fever, but I went through them one at a time and I felt much, much better after 24 hours. (H1N1 is a much milder flu strain than seasonal flu.)
By Thursday night, Jeff had a sore throat and R had developed a massively runny nose. I don't know if R's sneezing is a lingering side effect of last week's illness (she has been sniffly all week) or if she caught a cold thanks to her weakened immune system. But either way, we aren't done being sick yet!
Meanwhile our TV, the wonderful, fabulous electronic babysitter that it is, died. Completely. It won't turn on. It's old, has been moved to eight different residences that I know of, has made multiple cross country trips, and has been trying to die since Labor Day Weekend, so this was inevitable. But the timing sucks. And, yes, we only had one TV. Last night I was alone with the kids and thought, no problem, I will just pop a DVD into the computer. Only it turns out our computer is so dang old it doesn't have a DVD player. Noooooo! After watching an episode of Max and Ruby on youtube which someone obviously recorded off their TV screen, I started looking around for higher quality, legal children's programming. I couldn't find anything other than 2 minute clips. Aaauggh.
But things will be better. And I will never again wish my house clean. Ever.
Last week R's preschool class was kind enough to give her the flu. Which she has subsequently shared with the whole family. She was miserably sick last Friday, but by Saturday afternoon she was feeling much better and had turned into a full-fledged cranky Becky demanding that we bow at her feet. On Sunday afternoon it was L's turn, and he too went through 24 hours of misery before bouncing back. I was up a lot with L on Sunday night (yes, even more than usual!), and Jeff ended up getting up for the day at 4:00 a.m. with M who wanted to know why everyone else was up.
I had a meeting at work on Monday morning, but I went home after it so I could help Jeff since he was exhausted and it was a struggle to take care of the other two while L wanted to be held all the time. It's probably a good thing I headed home, because M got sick Monday afternoon, and then we had two babies who wanted to be held constantly, plus a very jealous big sister.
Monday night was the worst of it. Both boys wanted to be held. By me. Daddy was worthless. After having them scream from 10:30 - 11:30 p.m., I finally got them both settled down with me on the living room floor. It turns out their big fans of late night TV and love Conan. They dozed off, and I was happy to be able to get some sleep. But then M woke up screaming. And I got him back to sleep. And then he woke up screaming again. It turns out that he woke up screaming about every 15 minutes for the next two hours. Finally, around 1:30, both boys passed out on the floor snuggled together holding hands (it was SO cute!) and slept for slightly longer stretches. They still woke up every 45 minutes to an hour, but that's a huge improvement over ever 10-20 minutes.
I didn't make it to work on Tuesday. But, thanks to being able to strap a baby into the sling at all times, I did get seven loads of laundry washed and the floors swept. I napped in the afternoon while the boys slept, so I didn't get the floors mopped, but I needed my rest. And I ended up mopping that evening anyway because it was Pru's turn to be sick. To be more precise, Pru was sick all over the dining room, living room, kitchen, and hall. (Dogs and humans don't actually share diseases, but the stress of our house may have driven her to eat something she shouldn't have. Or she was worn down from staying up all night with me and the boys playing Nurse Pru. Or she is the first dog to get sick from humans. Who knows.)
I actually went to work on Wednesday. Unfortunately I had a late afternoon sneezing attack that turned into severe aches after dinner and full-on flu by the wee hours of Thursday morning. So Thursday was my day to stay home sick. Since the kids and I had all had seasonal flu shots, I suspected we had H1N1, and that was pretty much confirmed by the bizarre symptoms I had. I went through all the usual flu symptoms - runny nose, aches, chills, and fever, but I went through them one at a time and I felt much, much better after 24 hours. (H1N1 is a much milder flu strain than seasonal flu.)
By Thursday night, Jeff had a sore throat and R had developed a massively runny nose. I don't know if R's sneezing is a lingering side effect of last week's illness (she has been sniffly all week) or if she caught a cold thanks to her weakened immune system. But either way, we aren't done being sick yet!
Meanwhile our TV, the wonderful, fabulous electronic babysitter that it is, died. Completely. It won't turn on. It's old, has been moved to eight different residences that I know of, has made multiple cross country trips, and has been trying to die since Labor Day Weekend, so this was inevitable. But the timing sucks. And, yes, we only had one TV. Last night I was alone with the kids and thought, no problem, I will just pop a DVD into the computer. Only it turns out our computer is so dang old it doesn't have a DVD player. Noooooo! After watching an episode of Max and Ruby on youtube which someone obviously recorded off their TV screen, I started looking around for higher quality, legal children's programming. I couldn't find anything other than 2 minute clips. Aaauggh.
But things will be better. And I will never again wish my house clean. Ever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)